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POLITICS
Jim Jordan

'Just Jim being Jim': Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan's hometown stands behind provocative politician

Portrait of Dean Narciso Dean Narciso
The Columbus Dispatch
Wrestlers participate in the Central Buckeye Conference tournament at St. Paris Graham High School on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021. Jeff Jordan, brother of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, is a nationally recognized wrestling coach that led Graham to 19 state titles as a coach before his retirement in 2018. Both Jeff and Jim each won four state individual wrestling titles when they were in high school at Graham.

URBANA, Ohio — Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan considers the wrestling mat an ideal foundation for life's battles, including politics.

"The closest thing to a wrestling match is a committee hearing," the four-time state high school champion in the sport recently told The Dispatch. 

And he thinks of this small town in the center of Champaign County — near where he grew up, learned the sport and raised a family — as formative to his now-high-profile career in Washington, where he's been a member of Congress since 2007 and one of the most-vocal allies of former President Donald Trump.